Consultancy In Dredging: Swan Dredging Ltd Always A Leader

The scene is the emerging elitist seashore environment of Ikoyi, an exclusive part of Nigeria's former capital city of Lagos inhabited by the high and mighty. It is called Banana Island, an expansive sprawling city reclaimed from the sea and Lagos Lagoon in the recent past. Location? The mobile office from where Sunday Otuya, marine engineer, Principal Consultant and CEO, Swan Dredge and Marine Consultants Ltd sits over the dredging of part of the lagoon to create more land for development of modern estates. To the uninitiated, the entire scenario is that of huge sand dunes covering several hectares of land, what used to be water and part of the high sea.

In this chat with D&E's crew of Deola Eseyin and Izuchukwu Ozoemena, Managing Editor and Editor respectively, Engineer Otuya who was a dredging superintendent for 24 years, takes the magazine through the entire gamut of indigenous dredging and its evolution in Nigeria plus the relevance of expert consultancy in an industry largely dominated by foreign outfits. While advising the Nigerian authorities to inaugurate specliased departments in tertiary institutions devoted to dredging as a discipline, he comes hard on local entrepreneurs who, for one reason or the other, misappropriate loans from banks aimed at advancing improvement in the portfolio of indigenous dredging in Nigeria to enable them catch up with and even surpass their foreign counterparts. He is emphatic that what Nigeria has in terms of manpower and technical know-how in dredging is enough to serve the entire West Africa sub-region and even beyond. On whether sand- filling (the sea) is safe to provide land for construction of buildings, Otuya says "it is safe so long as you do the right thing when erecting the structures".

Acquaint us with the corporate objectives of Swan Dredge & Marine Consultants Ltd.
If you go around this country, you find out that dredging is a business government has never laid any emphasis on. You only have the multinationals in the business. But somewhere along the line, we that are privileged to come in contact with international organizations that started this business in Nigeria far back in the 60s (1962 to be precise) we are opportuned to gain one or two things. So, I will also say today that dredging has become a household activity in this country because everybody now knows what is involved. Why we set up Swan Dredge and Marine Consultants Ltd is to prove a point.

You have so many dredging companies now and so many people just dabbled into this business without knowing what it takes to do it or how to go about it. What we are doing now is to help those who have just established, that is indigenous dredging companies, see and know what they will be able to do and what they cannot do (to make their businesses grow).

How is the government's local content policy affecting dredging in Nigeria?
If you look around this country today, up to 25 indigenous dredging companies or more are set up. The only way it can work (i.e. development of local content in the local industry) is for the indigenous companies to really know what they need to do so as to get to the height the international dredging firms have reached. There is no difference; we are all dredging people. The only difference is the managerial aspect of every organization. If you are able to manage your firm very well, you will be able to compete with the international organizations in dredging.

What about the technical know-how? Do the local entrepreneurs have it too?
Yes, we have it even more than the so-called expartiates. One thing you have to understand is that Nigerians and Africans are blessed. We are highly intelligent people. The only problem I see in this part of the world is that we don't seem to recognize or keep value on what we have. We prefer looking at the colour or the race. But to me, I think we have very good engineers and people who can fabricate (machinery) and do this job even better than the internationals.

What have been your experiences as a dredging outfit in an industry largely dominated by the foreigners? How have you been coping?
As an organization, we are giving support services to the already existing dredging companies; even we also do business with international companies as well. We advise them on the best way to go about carrying out their businesses. We also do a kind of maintenance services, name them. We are not doing badly. You see, one thing is if you know your onions, you can always survive in any environment no matter the type of challenges that may face you.

Swan Dredge and Marine Consultants is outstanding and specialized in the services it renders. Why is this outfit outstanding?
We know the business all through and before going into whatever we are doing, we are already properly grounded. This, to us, is a definite advantage unlike people who are novices. We know what it takes to operate in the industry. New entrants into dredging get support services from us. We are experts in arranging and carrying out periodic maintenance of dredgers and allied services without which anybody in the trade fails.

Can you tell us companies you have consulted for?
When I left school, I joined Westminster Dredging where I saw the sector as a strange industry. I served in the engine room, at the deck and various other sections. After 21 years, however, I left Westminster Dredging voluntarily to go out and help other indigenous dredging companies, at least to transfer my rich experiences. I went private and so far so good. We have consulted for Harris Dredging Nig. Ltd; Prime Dredging Ltd; C.B. Dredging and Marine Ltd. We are also doing jobs for Ellicott Dredging of United States of America. Currently, we are dry-docking a dredger for a company in Port Harcourt.

What policies should government put in place to encourage indigenous dredging companies?
Government should establish schools to train Nigerians in the dredging business. Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria, including universities, should establish departments solely devoted to the teaching and learning of dredging and the production of indigenous experts and technicians in this business. Paper qualification should be de-emphasized.

Past efforts to dredging the River Niger: was Swan Dredge and Marine Consultants ever involved?
Part of the contract was awarded to Giorgio Dredging where we worked.

People suggest piling instead of dredging for River Niger: is it good?
Whether piling or dredging, it all depends on what government wants to achieve. People should be made to be aware of such a project. Constant dredging and frequent maintenance is necessary to allow the use of the channel to improve the economy and general welfare of the people. Water transportation, all over the world, is the best and cheapest and with the dredging and constant maintenance of the River Niger, Nigeria will achieve a better way of transporting cargo up north and vice versa. If we do the right thing, there will be no problem. Facilities put in place by the government should be made to work.

Has the recent recapitalization in the banking sector affected dredging?
Banks do have micro finance programmes to aid dredgers but the point is that loans still attract very high interests. They still have a lot to do in this area to make things easier for local entrepreneurs. We still have arrangements whereby entrepreneurs in dredging obtain loan facilities for which they provide collaterals and pay a certain percentage interest while the banks fulfill the rest. But where the companies fail, the banks impound the facilities.

Some laymen in this business fear that sand-filling the lagoon is unsafe. Is it true?
It is safe. The entire Victoria Island in Lagos was sand- filled in 1962 to have what is on ground today. It is safe so long as you do the right thing when erecting your structures.

How many staff has Swan Dredge and Marine Consultants Ltd?
We have about six management staff on ground including others in Port Harcourt where we have a dredger currently working.

Assessing the Nigerian indigenous dredging capability, do you think it can service the entire West African sub-region?
Yes, we have the manpower, the technical know-how and all that it takes to service the entire West African sub-region. If we do the right thing, we will achieve that. But the problem remains management.

Your operations?
We organize workshops, seminars and in-house training for our clients. We also manage crews in dredging. In the near future, we intend to diversify into other areas. Indigenous dredging companies, I believe, will come up better in future. But the question is: are we (the entrepreneurs) prepared to shed off the tendency to misappropriate loans and advances from banks to encourage us? Do we have the discipline to execute contracts to specification and within targets? These are the key problems militating against progress in the field by indigenous entrepreneurs in the dredging industry.

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